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Today, Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said he took it as “a slap in the face” last year when 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers imitated his salsa dance after an interception in the teams’ regular-season meeting.

If Rogers reprises the celebration – it’s a possibility, he said Tuesday — it’s likely Cruz will be even more offended: Cruz’s dance is inspired by his late grandmother, Lucy Molina, who died at 77 in mid-September.

“It’s something that I do for my grandmother,” Cruz said. “It’s something that’s sacred to me. Due to her passing, and even before she passed away, it was something that was dear to me. And why I do it is for her because she told me that she loved it so much. And she taught me how to do it … I just feel that, knowing that, it’s just a little slap in the face, but everybody’s different.”

Cruz channeled his anger on the field in last year’s NFC Championship Game. In a 12-minute span in the first half, he had eight catches for 125 yards while being covered one-on-one by Rogers. The 49ers gave Rogers more help after halftime and Cruz finished with 10 catches for 142 yards.

Not surprisingly, Cruz is hoping for another head-to-head meeting with Rogers.

“Hopefully, I expect the same thing I got last year,” Cruz said. “A lot of Carlos Rogers on me … And, hopefully, I can do some of things I did last year.”

On Monday, Rogers acknowledged he couldn’t perform the salsa like Cruz, but didn’t rule out some more shimmying if he got an interception against the Giants.

“I’m not going to try to retaliate or do something crazy,” Cruz said. “That’s not me. But it obviously won’t sit well with me as I’ve stated before.”